IRELAND XV ENDURED a difficult outing at Thomond Park this evening as Cullie Tucker’s side fell to a comprehensive defeat at the hands of a supremely-drilled England ‘A’ outfit in the Limerick venue.
Featuring several players who have been capped at international test level, England largely dominated the early exchanges and eventually took the lead when team captain Ethan Roots touched down over the whitewash in clinical style.
Visiting half-backs Harry Randall and Billy Searle subsequently combined on 18 minutes for the latter to race over for a try that he also converted, but Ireland finally got up and running in the second-quarter when Munster flanker Brian Gleeson powered over to the right of the posts on his province’s home turf.
Ireland head coach Andy Farrell and scrum coach John Fogarty watch on. Dan Clohessy / INPHO
Dan Clohessy / INPHO / INPHO
Yet this only proved to be a minor speed bump for England and they reinforced their authority after winger Ollie Hassell-Collins comfortably dotted down in the left-corner off an incisive Randall pass.
While Randall also squeezed over the opposition line as the action progressed, Ireland kept themselves in contention when rising Leinster back Joshua Kenny chased down a fly kick from James Hume to score a 39th minute try.
A second successful Ciaran Frawley conversion left the hosts just 10 points in arrears (24-14) at the break, but the home team suffered a set-back when lock Fineen Wycherley was yellow-carded a little under three minutes after the resumption.
This increased the pressure on the Irish defence and England took advantage of their temporary numerical supremacy by bagging additional tries through George Kloska and Hassell-Collins (his second).
Ireland looked set for a much-needed boost when Cathal Forde seemingly burst over for an excellent individual try moments after being introduced off the bench, but it was ultimately ruled out for an earlier forward pass by loosehead prop Billy Bohan.
Their woes were further compounded when Cadan Murley added his name to the scoresheet with a fine try inside the final-quarter and while Ireland threatened for a third try in the closing stages of the action, England ‘A’ had the final say when blindside flanker Roots doubled his tally with just over a minutes remaining on the clock.
Ireland XV scorers:
Tries: Brian Gleeson, Joshua Kenny
Conversions: Ciaran Frawley [2 from 2]
England ‘A’ scorers:
Tries: Ollie Hassell-Collins 2, Ethan Roots 2, Billy Searle, Harry Randall, George Kloska, Cadan Murley
Conversions: Billy Searle [5 from 7], Charlie Atkinson [1 from 1]
IRELAND XV: Shane Daly; Joshua Kenny, James Hume, Dan Kelly (Cathal Forde ’53), Zac Ward; Ciaran Frawley (Jack Murphy ’64), Fintan Gunne (Matthew Devine ’53); Billy Bohan (Sam Crean ’57), Gus McCarthy (Diarmuid Barron ’57), Scott Wilson (Jack Aungier ’47-’69); Charlie Irvine, Fineen Wycherley (Harry Sheridan ’53); Max Deegan, Bryn Ward, Brian Gleeson (Sean Jansen ’47).
ENGLAND ‘A’: Joe Carpenter; Cadan Murley, Luke Northmore (George Handy ’64), Orlando Bailey, Ollie Hassell-Collins; Billy Searle (Charlie Atkinson ’69), Harry Randall (Raffi Quirke ’50); Tarek Haffar (Archie van der Flier ’56), Jamie Blamire (Kepueli Tuipulotu ’63), George Kloska (Afolabi Fasogbon ’50); Ben Bamber (Hugh Tizard ’63), Joe Batley; Ethan Roots, Jack Kenningham (Fitz Harding ’59), Alex Dombrandt.
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Tough night for Ireland XV as England 'A' run riot at Thomond Park
Ireland XV 14
England ‘A’ 52
Daire Walsh reports from Thomond Park
IRELAND XV ENDURED a difficult outing at Thomond Park this evening as Cullie Tucker’s side fell to a comprehensive defeat at the hands of a supremely-drilled England ‘A’ outfit in the Limerick venue.
Featuring several players who have been capped at international test level, England largely dominated the early exchanges and eventually took the lead when team captain Ethan Roots touched down over the whitewash in clinical style.
Visiting half-backs Harry Randall and Billy Searle subsequently combined on 18 minutes for the latter to race over for a try that he also converted, but Ireland finally got up and running in the second-quarter when Munster flanker Brian Gleeson powered over to the right of the posts on his province’s home turf.
Yet this only proved to be a minor speed bump for England and they reinforced their authority after winger Ollie Hassell-Collins comfortably dotted down in the left-corner off an incisive Randall pass.
While Randall also squeezed over the opposition line as the action progressed, Ireland kept themselves in contention when rising Leinster back Joshua Kenny chased down a fly kick from James Hume to score a 39th minute try.
A second successful Ciaran Frawley conversion left the hosts just 10 points in arrears (24-14) at the break, but the home team suffered a set-back when lock Fineen Wycherley was yellow-carded a little under three minutes after the resumption.
This increased the pressure on the Irish defence and England took advantage of their temporary numerical supremacy by bagging additional tries through George Kloska and Hassell-Collins (his second).
Ireland looked set for a much-needed boost when Cathal Forde seemingly burst over for an excellent individual try moments after being introduced off the bench, but it was ultimately ruled out for an earlier forward pass by loosehead prop Billy Bohan.
Their woes were further compounded when Cadan Murley added his name to the scoresheet with a fine try inside the final-quarter and while Ireland threatened for a third try in the closing stages of the action, England ‘A’ had the final say when blindside flanker Roots doubled his tally with just over a minutes remaining on the clock.
Ireland XV scorers:
Tries: Brian Gleeson, Joshua Kenny
Conversions: Ciaran Frawley [2 from 2]
England ‘A’ scorers:
Tries: Ollie Hassell-Collins 2, Ethan Roots 2, Billy Searle, Harry Randall, George Kloska, Cadan Murley
Conversions: Billy Searle [5 from 7], Charlie Atkinson [1 from 1]
IRELAND XV: Shane Daly; Joshua Kenny, James Hume, Dan Kelly (Cathal Forde ’53), Zac Ward; Ciaran Frawley (Jack Murphy ’64), Fintan Gunne (Matthew Devine ’53); Billy Bohan (Sam Crean ’57), Gus McCarthy (Diarmuid Barron ’57), Scott Wilson (Jack Aungier ’47-’69); Charlie Irvine, Fineen Wycherley (Harry Sheridan ’53); Max Deegan, Bryn Ward, Brian Gleeson (Sean Jansen ’47).
ENGLAND ‘A’: Joe Carpenter; Cadan Murley, Luke Northmore (George Handy ’64), Orlando Bailey, Ollie Hassell-Collins; Billy Searle (Charlie Atkinson ’69), Harry Randall (Raffi Quirke ’50); Tarek Haffar (Archie van der Flier ’56), Jamie Blamire (Kepueli Tuipulotu ’63), George Kloska (Afolabi Fasogbon ’50); Ben Bamber (Hugh Tizard ’63), Joe Batley; Ethan Roots, Jack Kenningham (Fitz Harding ’59), Alex Dombrandt.
Referee: Benoit Rousselet (France).
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